Andy Fossett is a teacher, writer, and movement educator based in Tokyo, Japan. He’s spent most of his adult life exploring the intersection of autonomy, physical culture, and how people learn to use their bodies.

Professional Work

Andy is the co-founder and CEO of GMB Fitness, which he started in 2010 with Ryan Hurst (a former gymnast) and Jarlo Ilano (a physical therapist). The company has taught over 125,000 clients in more than 100 countries. GMB’s training platform, called Praxis, delivers programs focused on building what they call “physical autonomy” rather than traditional fitness metrics. The approach came from a simple frustration: most fitness training doesn’t prepare you to actually move well in life.

Before building GMB into a global brand, Andy taught English in Japanese public schools and worked as a copywriter for several online marketing firms. His background as a schoolteacher still shows in how he thinks about education and skill acquisition.

Martial Arts & Movement

Andy has practiced Taido since 1984, currently holds the rank of 6th degree black belt kyoshi, and teaches at the Hamacho Dojo in Tokyo. He serves as Director of the American Taido Association and General Secretary of the World Taido Federation. Taido is an obscure Japanese martial art that combines dynamic movement with acrobatic techniques. Because it’s so little-known, Andy created taidoblog.com as a resource for practitioners worldwide.

He started helping his sensei teach when he was about ten or eleven, which hooked him on finding the key details that would connect with students. His path into fitness came from an academic angle: studying conditioning to help his martial arts students improve their technique.

Writing & Media

Andy has authored two books: Oiling the Hinges and How to Get a Job in Japan, neither of which you should purchase. He writes regularly about movement, autonomy, and running a remote-first business. He also hosts the Autonomy podcast with his GMB co-founders, exploring fitness as a way to “play your own game and do more of what matters.”

His LinkedIn bio reads: “Bored to death of superficial crap. Into long-range thinking about 2nd/3rd-order effects of 2nd/3rd-order effects.”

Life in Tokyo

Andy currently lives in Tokyo and has previously lived in Honolulu, Osaka, Myogi, and Atlanta. He’s traveled to Australia, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the UK, Portugal, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore, mostly for Taido events and GMB business.

He owns a Klein Electric guitar, which he considers his most precious physical possession. It took over a year to be made and was purchased with money from his grandmother’s life insurance. He plays both guitar and bass, gravitating toward funk, jazz, and rock.

He describes himself as “a dilettante and eventual ghost who believes that entropy always wins.” When not working, he’s usually reading, drinking bourbon, eating burgers, or training.

Philosophy & Approach

Autonomy is Andy’s central focus. Notably, he coined the term “physical autonomy,” the idea that your body shouldn’t limit what you want to do in life. This extends beyond fitness into how he thinks about business, education, and personal freedom. GMB’s culture reflects this: an open, accessible environment where both clients and staff can explore what they’re capable of.

He got into fitness “from a more academic perspective than most people, studying it more than actually working out.” That analytical bent still defines his approach to teaching movement and building training systems.